BJP to stage dharna outside CM’s residence

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said it would stage a demonstration outside chief minister Harish Rawat’s residence on October 5 to protest against the Congress.

dehradunUpdated: Sep 28, 2015 21:23 IST

HT Correspondent Hindustan Times

Leader of the opposition in the state assembly Ajay Bhatt addressing a press conference in Dehradun on Monday.(HT Photo)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said it would stage a demonstration outside chief minister Harish Rawat’s residence on October 5 to protest against the Congress government for “harassing BJP legislators, protecting the corrupt and raising the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol.”

BJP’s leader of opposition Ajay Bhatt, at a news conference here on Monday, cited the case of his party’s Gadarpur MLA Arvind Pandey who was recently booked by the police on “false” charges of beating up a Naib Tehsildar.

“No action has been taken against the Naib Tehsildar who was recently gheraoed by the people on charges of corruption and dereliction of duty,” the BJP leader said while denying the charges that the MLA concerned beat up the Nai Tehsildar.

“The MLA did not manhandle or beat up the official…He might have been hit by the jostling crowd protesting against him,” Bhatt said. “In fact, the Naib Tehsildar himself has admitted that the MLA concerned saved him, otherwise the mob would have lynched him,” he added.

The BJP is also peeved at Rawat’s alleged refusal to meet the wife and son of the BJP MLA and booking them on charges of breach of peace.

Bhatt alleged that the security staff of the CM’s office also manhandled the MLA’s wife and son recently when they tried to see him. “They wanted to demand a CBI inquiry into the manhandling of the Naib Tehsildar so that the facts of the case could come out.” He said the woman and her son were not only shabbily treated and thrown out of the CM’s office but they were also subsequently arrested.

Bhatt said on September 4, a delegation of BJP senior leaders sought an appointment with the chief minister to discuss the issue but the latter kept them waiting. “The chief minister kept them waiting till 9:30pm and finally refused to meet them without citing any reason,” he alleged.

The Congress alleged that the BJP’s plan to organise a march was aimed at misguiding the people. “Such moves also show that the BJP is also hankering for cheap popularity,” Surendra Kumar, CM’s media in-charge said in a statement.

“If BJP leaders are concerned about the state’s development let them gherao the Prime Minister’s residence in Delhi,” he said.